Milwaukee Brewers And The Heat: How It's Played

Grantland Rice gave us the
ideal in 1914, writing that “when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against
your name, He writes—not that you won or lost—but how you played the game.” But
in pro sports, the One Great Scoreboard is what determines how the game is
played.

Frank: The Brewers almost pulled off a great comeback in
their Philly finale, and completing a sweep would have been a nice payback for
the three straight 7-6 meltdowns there a year ago.

Artie: The Jonathan Lucroy homer that was overruled on
review was a payback, sort of, for the missed call that was so important to the
Brew Crew's win Saturday.

F: Jean Segura “sold” the umpire on the ninth-inning
pickoff tag even though the ball squirted out of his glove. And it happened
soon after the TV guys had Joe Torre in the booth, reaffirming that expanded
use of replay reviews will happen.

A: If it was in effect already, that call would have
been overturned in a minute or less. You've got to hand it to Segura, though.
No one else on the field had any idea the ball was loose. It was a really heady
play by such a youngster, to show the ball immediately.

F: Gamesmanship, they call it. Which is a sports term
for, let's face it, a certain amount of dishonesty to influence the officiating
crew.

A: Well, what Segura did certainly didn't guarantee the
runner would be called out. It was just an attempt, a hope.

F: But not the kind of thing I'd enjoy explaining to a
Little Leaguer. It's like anything else in big-time sports: If it ain't called
it ain't wrong. And a fan's reaction depends on what uniform the player is
wearing. If it's the uniform you're rooting for, well, it's a “clever” or
“savvy” move. If the uniform's wrong, it's cheating.

A: Not that gamesmanship is anything new.

F: Two years ago we saw Derek Jeter—Mr. Role Model from
my team!—pretend he was hit by a pitch and get rewarded with first base. For as
long as we've been watching pro football there have been punters collapsing in
a heap whenever a rusher got anywhere near them.

A: But nothing is as blatant as the “flopping” NBA
players are doing these days. I'm thinking of one player in particular.

F: Could it be LeBron James, who was fined for flopping
in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals with Indiana?

A: That's the guy, but it applies to his teammates too.
After the season the Heat should join a soccer league; those naught-naught guys
ain't seen world-class "diving" 'til they see the Heat play.

F: Could this have something to do with your strong
desire to see James lose?

A: With New Orleans and Charlotte changing their
nicknames, how about LeBron's guys making it a threesome and becoming the Miami
Mackeral?

F: We'll have more about flopping and the Brewers—which
go together so far this year—on the website.

DREW WINS THE DRAW

F: Larry Drew is the Bucks' new coach. A good choice?

A: All you can say is what you can say every time: It
could be. Atlanta was over .500 and made the playoffs all three years under
Drew. How much does that say about his coaching, or the Hawks' talent, or how
those things blended?

F: It wasn't a thrilling choice, in the sense that it's
not someone “new” and “fresh.”

A: But there's nothing that says Drew can't possibly
succeed here. It depends on what players he has to work with.

F: And in the Bucks' case, that is very much to be
determined in the next few weeks.

SPURRED TO ENTHUSIASM

F: I know you hope Indiana beats Miami in Game 7 to
reach the NBA Finals. But how do you rate San Antonio's chances against either
Eastern team?

A: Darn good! I think the Spurs should be favored either
way.

F: And your reasons?

A: Against Indiana the Spurs' experience would be a big
factor. Their Big Three—Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili—are healthy
and rested after sweeping Memphis. And even against Miami, with Gregg Popovich
as the coach the Spurs will have something schemed to contain LeBron.

F: But I assume you wouldn't be shocked if Miami
repeated.

A: Sure, because among other things James will benefit
from the officiating. After all, he's the face of the league. But I really
think Dwyane Wade is hurting a lot.

F: What about Indiana against the Spurs?

A: I also wouldn't be shocked if the Pacers won. That
team is really, to use an old-school word, gritty. They have great size inside,
especially Roy Hibbert, who has really worked to make himself a major force.
It'll be mighty interesting either way.

FOR STARTERS, IT'S BAD NEWS

F: Alas, the old adage came true again for the Brewers:
“Momentum is tomorrow's starting pitcher.”

A: And with Mike Fiers as that pitcher the two-game
winning streak quickly turned into a 7-0 hole to climb out of. If he'd only
given up, like, four runs, chances are things would have been different.

F: One thing that has been very different in the last 10
days or so is Lucroy's showing at the plate. The guy has been on fire, looking
like he did in the first half last year before he got injured.

A: It shows how important it is to have at least one guy
toward the bottom of the batting order who's hitting in a timely fashion—or any
dang fashion!

F: So the Brewers came back to town for seven games
against Oakland and Philly at 21-34, and 15 ½ games behind division leader St.
Louis.

A: Which was the second-worst deficit in all of
baseball, tied with Houston in the AL West. Only Miami was worse, at 18 1/2
back in the NL East.

F: What's worse, though, is that the Brewers flew home
13 games behind both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

A: And even two games behind the Cubs! How depressing.

DRIVING AND DIVING

F: Getting back to flopping, I was fascinated by that
hilarious double flop—James and David West both collapsing like they'd
been shot in Game 4! It was like they were two magnets repelling each other.

A: The way the teams, but especially the Heat, were
falling down and flinging their arms out, it was like they were playing on ice
and just wearing socks. Just ridiculous!

F: But when the fines for flopping are $5,000 or
whatever, how is that gonna stop any of these mega-millionaires from doing it?
In soccer you can draw a yellow card for flopping, and two of those in a game
gets you kicked out. But under the NBA's policy you have to be caught five
times before a suspension becomes possible.

A: But if you made each flop a personal foul or
technical foul, maybe it might mean something to these guys.

F: I mentioned this stuff to our pal Rick Horowitz, and
he recalled a Sports Illustrated
article in the early '60s where Frank Ramsey, the famed “sixth man” of the
Celtics, described how he would draw charging fouls by cleverly initiating the
contact.

A: Must have been a piece written after Ramsey
retired.

F: That's just what Rick said! But still, I don't
remember drawing charges and all this flopping being a big part of the game we
knew as kids in the '60s and '70s.

A: Some of this came from the Europeans as they began to
come into the NBA. Vlade Divac, I know had the reputation as a flopper as far
back as 20 years ago.

F: But it seems like it's been elevated to this science
only in the last decade or so. Like anything else, it's “see and learn.”

A: James has a technique that he uses all the time.
He'll hook the other guy's arm and then use that to propel himself away like
he's been clobbered. And it works because he does it all very quickly and knows
the refs usually won't spot it. It only becomes obvious with replays and
slo-mo.

F: The one with West, James basically chopped down
across his chest from behind and then flung himself backwards.

A: West embellished his part for sure, but it was mostly
LeBron's doing.

F: James sure isn't apologizing. He had this to say
about flopping before Game 4: "Some guys have been doing it for
years, just trying to get an advantage. Any way you can get an advantage over
the opponent to help your team win, so be it."

A: And in this
year's second round, after Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau called James out, his
reply was, “I don't need to flop. I play an aggressive game. I don't flop. I've
never been one of those guys." BUSTED!

F: Wade, another alleged flopper, perhaps had the most
accurate quote when he said recently, “We would have no NBA possibly if they
got rid of all the flopping."

A: You'll never get rid of all of it, but some would be
nice.

F: Soccer players certainly do all they can to impede
each other, especially when they're competing for the ball. Elbows, hooking,
shirt-grabbing, you name it. Just like the NBA, where you could call a foul on
every play if you wanted to, soccer refs could call penalties every time the
ball goes into “the box.”

A: See? Why would I need to watch soccer when I can see
the same thing in the NBA?

F: One guy who didn't flop was Indiana's Tyler
Hansbrough in Game 5. He didn't have the time to think of it when Chris
Andersen slammed him from the side.

A: And then shoved him after he got up. Oh, did I love
that confrontation! I think the “Bird Man” should have been thrown out.

F: And he was, but only in retrospect. The NBA suspended
him for Game 6 and raised his offense to a Flagrant 2 foul, which would have
meant ejection if it had been called at the time.

A: If that had happened it might have made a difference
in Game 5 because Miami needed every big man it can find to contend with
Hibbert and West inside.

F: And it DID make a difference in Indiana's Game 6 win.

A: But I think that in the wake of all the foul calls
and flops of Game 4, the refs weren't nearly as pro-active in Game 5.

F: Another sign of David Stern's master plan to have the
series go seven games?

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